RE: Why I Blog the Way I Do

Why

This blog post is in response to this post by Jim Mitchell. It is also inspired by this one by Sebastian and this one by Alexandra at Wry Writer and a handful of others.

In his post, Jim said the following:

When it comes down to it, I blog more for my own benefit than anyone else’s. I often look back at what I posted years ago and immediately remember where my head was during that time, or what was important to me then. It’s cathartic and an inexpensive form of therapy.

I totally agree and this is one of the reasons I think everyone should have a blog. It is so fun to go back and see what you were doing or thinking in the past. I've only had my blog since sometime in 2022, but it's still really fun to look back on.

Writing is also cathartic. Even if I'm not writing a post directly about feelings or venting about something, it's just calming. It forces you to try to explain yourself and choose words and phrases carefully to fit what you're trying to say. Something about it forces me into a flow state and helps de-stress me. That may not be all people's case, but some sort of creative outlet is really helpful.

What

Alexandra had this to say about the style he blogs with:

Pretty much everything and I mean, everything I want to write about, goes on this blog. A personal post, check. A film review, check, a post about blogging, check. I realised the reason I kept starting and stopping was I was trying to force each blog I started into a tiny set of parameters.

If you are going to start a blog this is definitely the recommended way to go about it. I thought about trying to shoehorn my blog into a certain category at one point, but couldn't imagine it being sustainable (I mean, this barely is it seems 🤣). If you want to write about one topic, you have to be super passionate about the thing to make it worth your time. The freedom that comes with writing for yourself, as mentioned below, is amazing. It gives you a creative outlet when needed, but you don't have to constantly have something ready and waiting.

Jim said this which is very well put, and the way I write as well:

Since I’m blogging for myself, I know there’s no pressure in it. If I have nothing to say and want to go quiet for a month, I can do that. If I’m in a manic period of creativity, I can post a bunch of silly thoughts and drive people crazy with everything that pops into my mind.

Writing random things allow you to explore whatever you want instead of trying to fit into a mold you made for yourself. The creative juices do ebb and flow like waves. Sometimes all I want to do is write or make things, and other times I cannot, even if I want to. Whatever you do, be you.

How

I also like the indieweb aspect of blogging. As more and more of the things we make are made on centralized platforms, the more we have a chance to lose these things down the road. The indieweb is something we control and can build to our wants and needs rather than hope the powers that be build what we want. Need something for your blog? Hack in something from GitHub. Code it yourself. Solutions like that fit you, rather than you fitting it. This blog, although built on a framework, is open source. I can do as much or as little as I want to make it me. That's the beauty of it. You can use something like Ghost, Pagecord, Bear Blog, or one of the many other self-hosted/managed blogging platforms (I only have experience with Ghost). It's so fun to watch people develop their sites and make them their own.

This post by Sebastian summarizes the indieweb vibe well:

I agree with this view. In my opinion, this sort of internet browsing is like wandering through a forest. And using algorithmic social media is like falling into a raging river.

Each blog is it's only little homey corner of the internet. The indieweb is a calm and pleasant place. As with anything, it isn't always perfect, but it's a lot less turbulent than the mainstream.